The 1 Percent’s Problem & The “Be Selfish” Solution - Joseph Stiglitz

[kpete]

The 1 Percent’s Problem
Joseph Stiglitz
Vanity Fair
May 31, 2012


…The “Be Selfish” Solution


Many, if not most, Americans possess a limited understanding of the nature of the inequality in our society. They know that something has gone wrong, but they underestimate the harm that inequality does even as they overestimate the cost of taking action. These mistaken beliefs, which have been reinforced by ideological rhetoric, are having a catastrophic effect on politics and economic policy.

There is no good reason why the 1 percent, with their good educations, their ranks of advisers, and their much-vaunted business acumen, should be so misinformed. The 1 percent in generations past often knew better. They knew that there would be no top of the pyramid if there wasn’t a solid base—that their own position was precarious if society itself was unsound. Henry Ford, not remembered as one of history’s softies, understood that the best thing he could do for himself and his company was to pay his workers a decent wage, because he wanted them to work hard and he wanted them to be able to buy his cars. Franklin D. Roosevelt, a purebred patrician, understood that the only way to save an essentially capitalist America was not only to spread the wealth, through taxation and social programs, but to put restraints on capitalism itself, through regulation. Roosevelt and the economist John Maynard Keynes, while reviled by the capitalists, succeeded in saving capitalism from the capitalists. Richard Nixon, known to this day as a manipulative cynic, concluded that social peace and economic stability could best be secured by investment—and invest he did, heavily, in Medicare, Head Start, Social Security, and efforts to clean up the environment. Nixon even floated the idea of a guaranteed annual income.

So, the advice I’d give to the 1 percent today is: Harden your hearts. When invited to consider proposals to reduce inequality—by raising taxes and investing in education, public works, health care, and science—put any latent notions of altruism aside and reduce the idea to one of unadulterated self-interest. Don’t embrace it because it helps other people. Just do it for yourself.

much more:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/05/joseph-stiglitz-the-price-on-inequality

[bighughdiehl]

1. I am afraid....

that the past dynamic no longer applies. The bottom of the pyramid
has been manipulated to just suffer in silence, crime has declined during the recession.
Society seems to be ridiculously stable right now given what is going on.
IF the people in charge are psychopaths...they seem to be succeeding
in the fulfillment of their ultimate fantasy....a willing victim. If this wasn't the
case, there would be riots in the streets, and OWS would have been about 5x bigger.